Happy Valentine's Day, Warrior Princess (One-Shot)
by butterflygirl91
Summary: Three years after graduating high school and leaving Mystic Falls, Elena boycotts Valentine's Day. DELENA. Written in response to a prompt given to me on tumblr.


Elena pushed the buttons on the coffee pot impatiently. "Work you stupid thing." she muttered. **"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."**Damon muttered, yawning as he walked into the kitchen. He leaned over, kissing her cheek and grabbed coffee cups for both of them. The pot finally started brewing and Elena sighed, turning toward her boyfriend. It had been three years since they'd ventured out of Mystic Falls and into Richmond, VA so Elena could go to college. "It's early, I have a presentation in class today and I hate this stupid, stupid, STUPID non-holiday." she mumbled. Damon walked over, wrapping his arms around her. **"Aren't you supposed to only hate Valentine's day if you are…single? Or male?"** he asked. **"You are neither. In fact, you are ****_very_****female….and have a ****_very _****attractive boyfriend."** Damon teased. "I know…but there is so much pressure to have the perfect night and the perfect gift and I just…everytime we try to do Valentine's day we end up having a horrible night and fighting. Can we just…skip it tonight? Order Chinese food and watch bad television and boycott the whole holiday?" she asked. Damon smiled. "Sure. No pink or hearts or candy of any kind." he promised. Elena smiled and leaned in, kissing him. "Thank you." she smiled, going to pour herself a cup of coffee.

Elena spent the day at school, wading through a sea of balloons, teddy bears, candy and hearts. When she finally got home, she was exhausted. Walking through the front door, she hung her coat on the coat rack and called out to her boyfriend. "I'm home, babe." she said, tossing her school bag down. Looking around the apartment, she gasped. It was spotless…not that it was ever messy….she was dating Damon Salvatore…germaphobe, after all. But it was cleaner than usual. "Damon…?" she called, walking into the kitchen. He was standing at the stove, stirring a pot of pasta. **"Hi."** he smiled, leaning over to kiss her. He handed her a glass of blood and smiled. **"Happy Valentine's Day."** he smiled. Looking into the dining room, she saw a beautifully set table with candles and fresh flowers. There was soft music playing. "But I thought—" she started. **"Yeah, I know. But it's Valentine's Day. I wanted you to have…something. It took the pressure off you and I got to spoil my girlfriend. It was perfect."** he smiled. "Who knew. Damon Salvatore was a romantic." he teased. **"It's a ruse. I want hot Valentine's day sex."** he teased. Elena rolled her eyes and took a sip of the blood he'd given her.

When dinner was finished, Damon sat everything on the table. They sat together and ate while they talked. Elena thanked him several times for his sweet gesture and he shrugged her off, embarrassed. Damon Salvatore would never be called a sap, but he was a romantic at heart. When dinner was over, she moved to help him clean up.** "Eh-eh. Stop."**he said, smacking her hand playfully. "But I want to help…" she said, confused.** "If you want to help, go get Teddy from the bedroom. He's got a surprise for you."** he said. Elena would have blushed, if she were human at the mention of her raggedy old teddy bear. Damon good-naturedly mocked her often for still sleeping with the thing…but she couldn't help it.

Elena ventured into their bedroom and walked around to the bed, reaching for her teddy bear. A box had been tied to his hand. She could tell it was a box that jewelry came in, but when she opened it, it was empty…not even the cushion that held the jewlery remained. Walking back into the kitchen, teddy in hand, she looked for him questioning. "It's empty." she said. "Damon?" she walked into the living room and saw Damon kneeling there in front of their fire place. "Damon? What are you-" she stopped when he raised his hand, a ring resting in it. "Oh God." she said, covering her mouth. Damon's shifted, hoping that was a good reaction. **"Elena Gilbert. I love you more than anything. I love how strong you are…how stubborn and infuriating and amazing…how now, even after almost five years of knowing you, you still manage to surprise me every day. I want to spend the rest of our eternity being surprised by you. So….will you marry me?"** he asked with a smile.

Tears were streaming down Elena's face. She hadn't expected this. She nodded slowly and Damon jumped up, coming to gather her in his arms. "I love you." she murmured against his chest. Damon smiled. **"I love you too."** he whispered back. When she pulled away, finally, she kissed him passionately. Damon smiled and looked down when their kiss broke, sliding the ring onto her finger. **"So. Have we officially broken our bad Valentine's Day streak?" **


End file.
